Feral update

With the winter being so cold and snowy, I hadn't seen "our" ferals in quite some time. I could see at least one regular set of paw prints in the snow, and the food bowl was emptied each day. To my delight, I saw both of them one afternoon. Can you see them?

One jumped up into the the branches of a shrub. I cropped in and marked where they are:

Other updates:
Tucker is doing well and is urinating normally again. I'm still tweaking his diet (it's half raw and half canned at the moment).

Sadie has recovered and is doing well after her dental.

National Feral Cat Day--a little late

OOPS, we are a day late! But we still wanted to post about this important topic.

Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a cat fending for itself outside. In this part of the world, the climate is harsh, and scenes like this make me sad:

A couple of years ago, I saw a cat eating stale crusts of bread underneath our bird feeder. It ripped out my heart to see this beautiful animal reduced to that. I trapped and had her spayed and named her Bella:

I released her back outdoors. I see her about once per week, usually in our backyard, but sometimes in the neighborhood. She is very wary of humans and I never can get close, but I at least know she is ok.

Another cat, whom I haven't seen in a while, named Barney, sometimes visits. I was delighted to see "he" already had an ear tip on his right ear (the sign that a feral cat has been altered).

There are many generous and wonderful people who trap and spay cats, and they deserve kudos. My part in this is small, but every cat helped makes a difference. If just one person in each neighborhood trapped and spayed a feral cat, imagine the difference it could make!

Feral cat update

Some of you may remember that we spayed and feed a feral cat I've named Bella. This winter, I've noticed another cat coming regularly for the food too, and "he" (I don't know his sex) is even more wary than Bella. I've named him Barney, and was able to get one photo recently of him heading toward the feeding station.

Once the snow is gone, I hope to trap and get him spayed/neutered. He does not have an ear tip or collar. I've been checking craigslist for missing cats, and nothing matches this cat. At least he knows we have a safe haven for him to eat and rest.

Bella feets

Though I have not seen her in a few days, I have evidence that Bella is coming to eat:

Tiny little kitty feets. So cute, yet so sad.

A special giveaway!

I work at a publishing company (of magazines and books), and once in a while I can snag a freebie. I got an early copy of a book called "taming me," with a cat on the cover, so I took it home. I recently read it and found it quite good. It's the story of a feral cat (told from the cat's point of view) on Cat Cay island.

This book will be published on October 16--National Feral Cat Day! I'd like to pay it forward in honor of our feral Bella, and give this book away to a cat lover. Simply leave a comment to enter the drawing. I'll draw a name on September 27 and post the winner's name on the 28th.

Note: this book is an advance copy. There are a few typos, but I didn't find them distracting.

Good luck!

Bella sighting!

Yesterday morning, while I was getting ready for work, I saw Bella sitting in our backyard. I have never seen her lounging in the backyard before. I was so excited and grabbed the camera.

These photos are not good. It was dark and foggy, and I was shooting through the windows.

This is the "best" shot I got. I added text to show where her food and water station is.

She looked good, and quite content. I'm glad she knows our yard is a safe place.

More Tucker caterwauling videos

The past couple of years, Tucker has taken to caterwauling around the house. Since our friend Amy gave him some yarn balls, he's taken to caterwauling while carrying a ball in his mouth!

I managed to get two videos of him doing this. I had to be sneaky about it; if he hears me he will stop immediately.

In other news, Jim saw Bella a few days ago and she's looking well. I had to move her shelter to a different area because of all the rain we've had, but she's adjusted and is now going there each night.

Many views of a relaxed Benny

He continues to be the World's Most Adorable Napper. Here are two head-on views.

Top view:

Belly view!

In other news, we (well, Jim, though I keep my eyes open) see Bella about once per week. He spotted her in our garage a few days ago. I am glad she is doing fine and eating the food we put out.

My piano buddy

I recently decided to practice piano more regularly. I took lessons for nine years as a kid, but life gets crazy, and practice would fall to the bottom of the to-do list. I missed playing, so I got out a book of sonatinas and started playing.

Tucker was creeping closer and closer, so I pulled up a chair. To my delight, he jumped up. I love how happy he looks here.

Now, he'll look for the chair anytime I sit on the piano bench. He's a great partner and a good listener.

In other news, Jim saw Bella again on Sunday night. He talked to her from a distance, and she again walked down our driveway. :-)

Tucker's caterwauling

First, Jim saw Bella last night in our driveway! I'm thrilled that she's doing ok and still coming for food.

Today's post is a video I had tried to get for months--Tucker caterwauling. Every time I'd turn on the camera or move toward him, he would stop. I had to settle for the audio only, so ignore the boring scenery. Does anyone have a cat who does this regularly?

A little yarn

I  think Bella came to eat last night. I saw tiny pawprints in the snow and part of the food was eaten overnight. Take care, sweet girl.

I am crocheting a baby afghan for a co-worker. Tucker enjoys sitting on my lap while I crochet, and is good about not bothering the yarn. But then. . .trouble arrives.

What do we have here? Yarn just begging to be played with.

I'll just grab a little and no one will ever know.

HEY you, stop. You'll ruin it for all of us!

Fine. (under breath) Killjoy.

Please meet Bella

This little girl's name came to me as I was driving her home from the shelter (and no, I'm not a Twilight fan). Bella means "beautiful and diminutive," which she is both. She is resting inside our largest carrier on our enclosed porch. I gave her a bit of food and will keep her overnight, then release her in the morning.  I got a few photos:

It's a girl!

The animal shelter called a little while ago--the cat I brought in had no microchip and did not match any reports of missing pets. (Plus, it was obvious to me that she wasn't used to humans.)  They spayed her and said she's recovering well. I'll pick her up later this afternoon.

Now I have to wonder if this girl has been the one who's been coming to feed instead of Graystripe. The paw prints I'd seen were small, and she's a small cat.

I feel good knowing that this girl won't have to have kittens constantly. Now I need to name her--anyone have a suggestion?

Good news, bad news

Good news: I caught a cat sometime during the night! Bad news: It's not Graystripe. She/he went into the trap sometime after 11 p.m., after we stopped checking for the evening. She/he is a small brown tabby with white feet, very small, and very upset. I'm going to bring this one into the shelter to be scanned for a microchip and checked. She/he has no collar and it's not a good sign if she/he is out wandering that late at night. I'll keep you posted.

I've also caught the head cold that nearly everyone in my office has (it's just after 5 a.m. here and I can't sleep). I'm going to stay home from work but drive to the shelter to bring in this cat.